Florida Scrub Jay

i saw this jay the other day actually.

what i saw was the blue flash of it flying back and forth between my AC units and oak tree. i went to look because i thought it was a blue jay and i was hoping there was a new nest in the tree. i looked more closely and saw that it was not a regular blue jay. in fact, i thought it was an everyday mockingbird because of the gray and the size. with the blue i knew it was the endangered Florida scrub jay.

i feel lucky, i saw it in my own backyard!

The Florida Scrub Jay is found only in the dry oak scrublands of Florida and is a non migrating permanent resident of the state. The Florida Scrub Jay is about the same size as the more commonly recognized Blue Jay, but does not have the crest and is paler in color. They have bright blue upper parts with a grayish back, light gray underneath, and a dark eye patch. The Florida Scrub Jay can be distinguished from it's western relatives by it's light forehead and eyebrows.

The Florida Scrub Jay's diet consists of acorns, grasshoppers, beetles, ants, wasps, spiders and a variety of fruits and berries. Their range has been greatly reduced due to urbanization and agriculture. It is dependent on a variety of scrub oaks for nesting as well as food. The Florida Scrub Jay is consi... read moredered a threatened species by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.